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Abstract
This paper examines a character portrayal of a non-native speaker of English in
the romantic-comedy film Big Daddy (Dugan, 1999). As on-screen images tell powerful
stories about culture and ethnicity to wide audiences, it is important to understand not
only what is being told, but how the stories relate to a larger social discourse. A close
study of the supporting character Nazo in Big Daddy reveals the image of a non-native
speaker of English as a comedic element based on commonly used stereotypes. This
study also uncovers a social climate in which representations of non-native speakers as
incompetent and subordinate to others are accepted, normalized, and unexamined. The
discussion calls attention to the social impact of such mediated images on public support
for language policies as well as on the professional identity of non-native speakers of
English.
Convention